How Far We've Come
by Aerith The Evenstar
Summary: This is my late Valentine's Day one-shot. I can't really think of a good summary besides this being about Valerie and Jetfire's first Valentine's Day together.


ATE: This story happens to be the Valentine's Day one-shot that I wanted to get finished on Valentine's Day, but I ended up finishing it two days after the holiday. The reason why it took so long was because I didn't have any ideas as to what I wanted this one-shot to be about, so I'd like to thank **Bumblebeecamaro38**, **SeekerLuna**, **SilverStarlightXD**, and **DarkButterfly128 **for the ideas they gave me for this story (and I managed to use a bit of everyone's ideas in this story). I probably couldn't have finished this when I did if it hadn't been for you and everyone else that encouraged me to write this story. I hope everyone enjoys this late Valentine's Day one-shot that I worked hard to write.

Declaimer: I don't own Transformers or Transformers Armada. I only own my OCs Valerie and Astera.

NOTE: This one-shot takes place after the events of chapter 17, but before the events of chapter 18 from To Dance Among The Skies (TDATS). If you haven't read TDATS, you'll be slightly confused with what happens in this story.

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><p><strong>How Far We've Come <strong>

I had personally thought that today was going to be like any other day when I went to school: same classes, being with my friends while surrounded by all the other students that attended the same school, and the same routine that I've been doing most of my life. The only difference to my routine was the fact that my friends and I always went to the Autobots' base after school (we still went even if we didn't have school).

But as soon as I made it to school I learned that today wasn't going to be like any other day.

Because it was Valentine's Day.

I felt embarrassed that I forgot about Valentine's Day and walking past the many students in the hallway on my way to first period only served to reinforce that fact as I saw a few of them giving each other chocolates and cards. I remember back in elementary school how everyone had decorated shoeboxes with hearts and the colors red, pink, and white and how we had all handed out Valentine's Day cards to each other and placing them inside the shoeboxes. Back then it had been nothing more than innocent due to our young ages, but now that we were all older Valentine's Day held more meaning than our childhood counterpart. Ever since I entered middle school I had watched as other students (including the ones that were dating each other or had crushes on another person) exchange gifts with each other, but not once had I ever been a part of the lover's holiday. At first I had been a little jealous, but over time I grew used to it.

But this time was different. I didn't have to feel left out now that I have Jetfire. Who needed a boyfriend when you had a sparkmate (or a future husband that you were literally engaged to way before your birth)? Despite the fact that we were together there were a select few that even knew we were sparkmates – Optimus (who was no longer with us), Starscream, Alexis, and Scavenger – since we wanted to keep it a secret from everyone else. I had gotten used to hearing Jetfire's voice in my head or whenever he suddenly started talking to me through our connection, but there were times I had to be careful about what I was thinking (unless I wanted to be caught unaware by Jetfire due to a certain thought he picked up and could easily use to tease me). Luckily I was able to learn how to block my thoughts from him, but I only used it unless there was something serious I didn't want him to know about.

I couldn't help but think back on all the memories I had of Jetfire. I could still remember the first time I met him along with the other Autobots, but the first time I actually talked with him was when he caught me practicing my ballet in the rec room and appointed himself as my confidence booster buddy after learning about my self-esteem issues. It had been during that morning that I got to know a bit about him and was given my nickname Skydancer when he learned how much I liked gazing at the sky.

I remember when I had been upset after my first mission and how I blamed myself for losing the Mini-Con and for Optimus getting hurt while protecting me. It had been because of the dream I had that added to my self-blame (thinking that everyone was mad at me and blamed me for what happened on the mission) and I had tried to avoid Jetfire, but he would always find me. The last time he ran into me was when he kept insisting that it wasn't my fault and that was the first time I heard the Cybertronian Lullaby.

I remember after having watched Jetfire and Hoist (who had been Smokescreen back then) arm wrestling each other that I gave him a 'riddle' for him to figure out (promising that I would give his a prize if he was able to answer it). I can still recall how confident he had been that he could figure it out, but it was when he heard the 'riddle' that his confidence decided to take a vacation. It wasn't until the next day (or night) after I woke up and left the med bay (after the incident when my friends and I took Sky Blast, Astroscope, and Payload away from the base, along with Thrust chasing after us just to get the Mini-Con at that abandoned farm) that I ran into him (literally) and learned that he figured out the 'riddle' and asked for his prize. He ended up chasing after me when I ran away, but Jetfire ended up catching me as soon as I was outside and distracted by the night sky. Because I hadn't thought of a prize for him I ended up giving him a kiss on his gold face mask.

I remember writing Jetfire a letter (that I had Alexis deliver to him) telling him that I was grounded and wouldn't be able to come to the base that day. I was surprised when he called me on my portable comlink (that Red Alert made for my friends and I) and came over to my house to spend time with me. I still remember how surprised I had been when he suddenly scooped me up and held me close to his spark as his way of hugging me before saying the he missed me. I ended up learning a bit more about him, but he became quiet when I asked him about his family; I was glad he wasn't mad at me or anything when I apologized to him about mentioning them. I learned what a spark was when Jetfire held me close to his in order to keep me warm after I learned the hard way that the water I had planned to swim in had been cold. We had a good time together before he had to leave and I ended up looking forward to the next day.

I remember how the next day that Jetfire was still recharging when I went to the Autobots' base after school and how Hot Shot dared me to go see him if he wasn't awake by the time I was finished having Red Alert check my arm (which Optimus also made sure I did by ordering me to do so, as well as informing the medic bot about it). I ended up going into Jetfire's quarters for the first time to find that he was recharging on his berth inside a dark room; it was during that time I discovered that he didn't have his face mask on (when I managed to climb up his arm to get to him) and had felt his face with my hand before he woke up to find me standing next to his head. It was that day that I learned why he had been sad when I mentioned his family since that day happened to be the anniversary of when his mother, Astera, died and he even told me about her and showed me a picture of her holding him as a sparkling. Despite the fact that the original reason I brought my ballet stuff was so Jetfire could watch me dance (after having asked me the day before), I secretly felt that it would cheer him up after telling me the sad tale of his mother. It was when he came back from the mission he and the others went on that day that I was so shocked to see that Jetfire's body was battered and even though I knew he was okay (when I went to see him in the med bay) I was still worried about him. He ended up reassuring me that he would be okay and, as Vice Commander, ordered me to stop worrying about him for the rest of that day.

I remember after the incident when Megatron shot Smokescreen with the Requiem Blaster when Sideways gave me that horrible vision of everyone dying, and because of that I tried to push Jetfire away. At one point he cornered me (metaphorically) and how I shouted at him and told him about the fact that I was forced to make a deal with Sideways. I would've committed suicide if it wasn't for Jetfire stopping me and I told him about the vision I had. He took me flying, not only to fulfill the promise he made me, but as a way to cheer me up. That same day when Smokescreen was repaired (and became Hoist) I fainted, only to wake up in Jetfire's quarters with him at my side before he left on a mission with the Autobots. But when he came back he made the promise that he'd always protect me and that he'd always be there for me.

I remember the night after Jetfire and Starscream's mission that I had my ballet performance. I had been surprised to find that most of the Autobots came to see it using their new holoforms. The fact that had been the first time I saw Jetfire's holoform had been so strange, yet I was left amazed at the same time, and I hadn't expected him to give me roses for my performance. I learned as he was taking me home that I was his sparkmate and that was the first time we kissed. I ended up telling him no when he asked me to become his sparkmate – something that I still regretted to this day – and he had been so hurt from my answer and didn't talk of me for the rest of the time. I eventually came up with the idea that I would become his sparkmate when I was older and I told him that (at the time I thought he had been in recharge), which he accepted.

I remember when I discovered that I had a secret admirer and how I tried so hard to hide that from Jetfire, but he ended up finding out about it because of Fred's big mouth and got so jealous that he literally rejected me to the point that he no longer wanted anything to do with me (despite how much I tried to explain to him that I didn't have any feelings for my secret admirer). I was so hurt by his rejection that I started losing my emotions since I hadn't been able to feel my connection with him, going to the point that I wasn't even able to feel the pain of cutting my finger with a knife. I remember how much I wanted to die and tried to commit suicide again, but Sideways stopped me. I told Jetfire that I hated him and wanted him to kill me after he saw my memories to see if I had betrayed him, but that was when Megatron attacked. He ended up having to protect me after learning that I never betrayed him and when it was all over and he was apologizing to me that was the first time I saw him cry.

I remember the desperation and the sense of failure I felt from him when Jetfire went with Optimus to stop the Decepticons from destroying the Earth with the Hydra Cannon, thinking that it would be the last few moments he had left of me before Optimus gave up his life to save us all. I went to him after he came back from that mission and found him sitting outside mourning over Optimus' death and comforted him. At that time I knew that it hurt him to see his friend and leader die and it had probably been like watching his mother die again. Jetfire had to take over leading the Autobots since he was the Vice Commander and told me that he would only do so until the new Commander took over, which turned out to be Hot Shot. I ended up staying with him that night, and I managed to stay with him during his depression as he not only did his job, but trying to cope with Optimus' death. He ended up not allowing himself to rest, take breaks, or drink energon to keep up his strength; this went on until he suddenly collapsed and would've died or went into stasis lock if I haven't called Red Alert. I can still remember the pain I felt in my heart and how his hand had started loosing its warmth due to his critical state. I was relieved when Hot Shot finally came around and became the new Commander of the Autobots, just as much as Jetfire was with the fact that he had fewer responsibilities.

All of those memories were so precious to me that I held them so close to my heart. I didn't want to ever forget them. By the time I was done remembering all of those memories school was over for the day, but I found that Alexis had a ton of Valentine cards, some normal size while others were bigger than what they should've been, with her.

"What's with all the Valentine cards?" I asked and I sat behind her on Sureshock as we all started making our way to the Autobots' base.

"They're for the guys and the Autobots. Although the only exception is that you'll be giving Jetfire his." Alexis told me.

"But none of the Autobots know about Valentine's Day. And why only the guys and the Autobots?"

"In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated a little differently than it is here in America. Instead of both guys and girls giving each other gifts, it's just the girls that give gifts and chocolates to the guys, which one another holiday the guys will respond by giving gifts to the girls. It's kinda hard to explain how it works exactly, but that's just the gist of it."

"But you're Vietnamese!"

"So what? It's still a fun idea to celebrate Valentine's Day like this!"

We eventually got to the base where we found the Autobots working on their ship. That was when Alexis handed me one of the big Valentine cards she brought before shooing me off in the direction Jetfire was in, which was off to the side as he observed everyone working. I bet he could feel could feel my nervousness since he looked over at me and I felt his excitement of seeing that I was here before coming over to me.

"Hey, Skydancer! Whatcha got there?" Jetfire asked.

"Um…it's a Valentine's Day card." I told him, feeling my face heat up as I averted my eyes.

"Valentine's Day?" What's that?"

"Valentine's Day. It's this holiday for lovers or really good friends, where people give each other gifts, chocolates, cards, or all of the above just to show how much you care about someone. You can look it up if you want a better explanation about it."

"Gifts…" Jetfire trailed off as if he suddenly thought of something. "I'm assuming that card's for me."

"It is." I held up the card to him. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Thanks, Skydancer." He took the card from me. "I just remembered something I needed to do, so just hang tight for a bit."

I was left confused as I watched Jetfire leave the room. I didn't even know where he was going and I couldn't tell what he was up to. I turned to where Alexis, Rad, Carlos, Billy, and Fred were and could see the guys looking at their Valentine cards while Alexis was handing out the bigger cards to the Autobots and explaining to them what Valentine's Day was. Some of them looked confused and it was mostly Hot Shot asking her questions, not only because he was naturally curious, but because he was the new Commander of the Autobots. It made me remember how much Optimus' death affected me and I knew that everyone missed him. Suddenly Alexis pulled out her portable comlink and seemed to be talking to someone before leaving the room in the direction Jetfire went in. This left me confused.

'_What's going on?_' I thought.

A few hours later Alexis came up to me with a smile on her face and I couldn't help feeling confused.

"Where did you go, Alexis?" I asked.

"That would be a secret!" She told me, the smile never leaving her face. "But you'll need to come with me for a bit."

"For what?"

"Some girl time, of course. We could also go watch some TV in the rec room as well."

I found it funny that we ended up watching random shows on TV to pass the time, but we still ended up having some fun. I was so into the current show we were watching that I was taken by surprise when my eyes were suddenly covered by some cloth.

"Okay, Valerie! Time for me to take you to your next destination." Alexis told me before I felt her grab my arm.

"Alexis, what's—"

"_Secret_!"

I sighed as I was led to who knows where, but I assumed that I was led outside since I felt the gentle breeze. Alexis ended up leaving me here, but I didn't have to wait long for what would happen next since I felt the ground shaking slightly as something approached me, along with the familiar presence that I had grown so familiar with.

"What's going on, Jetfire?" I asked.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!" He told me, and I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I felt his metallic hand wrap around my body and before I knew it I felt the wind blowing past me as I knew that Jetfire was flying somewhere. I don't know how long it took, but we eventually landed and as soon as I was placed on the ground I immediately went to untie the clothe that was over my eyes, only to be surprised at what I saw. Before me I saw the flower field that I remembered seeing when Starscream had been going around cutting up boulders in his anger. I turned around to face Jetfire to see him sitting on the ground looking at me with his gold optics.

"What's going on, Jetfire?" I repeated my previous question.

I watched as his optics deactivated before his holoform appeared in front of me with a grin on his face.

"Two things." Jetfire started. "One, a date. Two, a gift."

"Wait… A _date_ and a _gift_?"

"Yep!" He came up to me before placing his hands on my shoulders. "If you hadn't noticed the sky recently, you'll see that I picked the perfect time to bring you here."

As soon as he mentioned it I turned to look at the sky and I realized that the sun was starting to set before turning back to him.

"You planned this." I said.

"_Weeelll_, it wasn't _just _my idea. Alexis helped, too." Jetfire pulled his hands away from my shoulders before reaching a hand into his pocket. I was surprised when he pulled out what looked to be a piece of angel aura quartz that appeared to be big enough to fit in the palm of my hand, and from what I could see there seemed to be a faint soft glow coming from. "This would be the gift I'm giving you."

I was surprised by this. This pretty stone was his gift to me? Jetfire ended up placing it in my hand before giving me a smile.

"It's…it's beautiful, Jetfire."

"On Cybertron we have this tradition that involves a mech giving their sparkmates a special gift to signify their love or commitment to them. The idea works a little in the same way handing down an heirloom to the next generation, but this is passed on from father to son with the son giving the gift to their sparkmate, and thus also giving their offspring this gift to give to their sparkmate. It can either come from the father, or the offspring could go off and find something they would like to use in place as their gift they would give to their sparkmate. This crystal happens to be only a piece I cut off from the main crystal because I wouldn't have been able to give you the whole thing itself. I don't exactly think you'd be able to take it home with you, let alone carry it."

"So this came from your father?" Jetfire nodded at this. "Where did it come from?"

"There was once a place called Crystal City. As the name implies the city was literally constructed out of crystal and was known for being the most spectacular city on Cybertron. But during the war it was destroyed by the Decepticons long before I was even created. From what my mom told me, dad found the main crystal in the remains of Crystal City and thought that it would be the perfect gift for her. She ended up loving it. So not only to you have this gift from me, but a piece of Cybertron and Crystal City with it."

I couldn't believe that a whole city had been constructed out of this type of crystal and I had a feeling that Crystal City was probably the most beautiful sight to behold before it was destroyed. I ended up wrapping my arms around his waist as I hugged him to which he responded by doing the same.

"Thank you, Jetfire. I love it." I looked up at him. "I wish I had something to give you in return."

"You already gave me something." He told me.

"The Valentine's Day card?"

"Not just that, but a wonderful sparkmate that I happen to love so much."

I felt my face heat up at this, but I still ended up smiling. I stood on my toes so I could give Jetfire a kiss, which he returned it eagerly. He smiled at me as soon as we pulled away.

"About we go for some night flying?" Jetfire asked.

I was more than happy to agree.

And that was how my first Valentine's Day with Jetfire went.

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><p>ATE: Thanks for taking the time to read this late Valentine's Day one-shot I wrote as a late gift to all the readers reading this story. I'll try to get back to working on chapter 21 of TDATS and I hope to get it finished sometime next week at the most (but I can't really guarantee and actual date).<p>

Please remember to review! ;D


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